Yin
by BlackShield
Summary: "I didn't say you needed help." Britt shrugs and minimizes a smug grin. "As I recall, my exact words were, 'Come on, it'll be fun.'" Brittany teaches Santana t'ai chi; Assembly Required universe.


PIERCE TOWER – REC ROOM LOG – 06:09:18 11 JUN 2022

* * *

Admin Britt has performed eight minutes fifty six seconds of Yang Taijiquan 108 form when Guest Dr. Santana S. Lopez enters from the hall. Santana, haphazardly dressed and clearly drowsy, leans against the doorframe while Britt continues the form uninterrupted. After seven seconds of observation, Santana tilts her head against the doorframe and tugs a bed sheet tighter around her shoulders. Britt smiles, out of Santana's line of sight, and does not pause.

When Britt finishes after twenty four minutes thirty four seconds of slow motions, she turns to look directly at Santana with a mischievous smile. Santana blushes and clutches the bed sheet. Britt speaks first: "Morning, sleepyhead."

Santana tosses her hair over her shoulder with moderate success and replies, "Barely. Why up so early? It's Saturday."

Britt smiles bigger. "No better time for t'ai chi."

"Is that what that was?" Santana's vocal pattern reflects genuine interest, not sarcasm.

Britt nods and walks to the wall. She takes a towel from the top of the stack and wipes perspiration from her forehead and neck. "What woke you up?"

"The bed was cold," Santana says very quietly. She shrugs one shoulder, eyeing Britt's body as Britt pulls on her shirt.

"Missed me?" Britt teases.

"You really do this every week?" Santana's curiosity does a poor job of masking her evasion tactics.

Britt falls for it, or humors her. "Every Saturday and Sunday, usually. It's a nice way to start the day."

Santana nods. Her eyes lose focus as she thinks. When she looks at Britt again, she asks, "Where did you learn?"

"Someone taught me," Britt says vaguely, correctly calculating Santana's probable disinterest in hearing about Britt's last romantic entanglement. Britt raises her eyebrows and smiles; she bounces to the door and grabs Santana's hands with excited urgency. "I could teach you."

Santana seems disoriented from Britt's exuberance and the bed sheet falling around her ankles. "Teach me?" She wrinkles her nose.

"The form I was doing." Britt nods eagerly, misreading or ignoring Santana's reaction. "Come on, it'll be fun."

Santana demurs and tries to pull her hands away. Britt doesn't release her grip. "Maybe later," Santana pushes.

Britt pouts, but she quickly gives in. "Later, then." She leans in and kisses Santana quickly. "Breakfast first."

Britt walks past Santana toward the kitchen. Santana stands frozen for just under three seconds before turning to follow.

* * *

PIERCE TOWER – REC ROOM LOG – 12:37:58 12 JUN 2022

* * *

Admin Britt enters the room, walking backwards and leading Guest Dr. Santana S. Lopez by the hands. Santana ducks her chin and smiles, belying her protests: "I told you, I don't need any help."

"I didn't say you needed help." Britt shrugs and minimizes a smug grin. "As I recall, my exact words were, 'Come on, it'll be fun.'"

Santana turns away and tucks her hair behind her ear. Britt touches Santana's cheek to draw her attention, and subsequently soothes, "Come on, let me show you a little bit. Maybe you'll like it."

"Sorry." Santana's gaze circuits the room, and she bites her lip. "I'm just…" Santana shrugs, struggling for words. "People like to tell me their tips for de-stressing, and I guess… that kind of stresses me out."

Britt sweeps Santana's hair aside and smiles gently. "I think you're just stressed 'cause you don't have your glasses with you," Britt teases.

"Yeah, maybe." Santana chuckles breathily. Britt interprets this as acquiescence and offers Santana a hair tie.

Santana accepts it, sealing the implicit agreement. Britt throws her shirt toward the stack of towels and stands ready to begin Yang Taijiquan 108 form. When Santana fails to imitate her, Britt nods insistently at Santana's stocking feet and gestures to the floor beside her.

Santana jerks into action and sheds her socks before taking her place beside Britt. She ties her hair up, blushing when Britt watches closely, and mimics Britt's stance: feet apart and hands at her sides.

"Just breathe," Britt coaches. Santana frowns in concentration; Britt slowly raises her hands in front of her and Santana copies studiously.

"Then you turn," Britt warns as she pivots to the right. Santana stutters, and Britt reminds her, "Just use the mirrors to see what I'm doing, and try to follow along."

Santana's body shudders under the tension of slow movements. Now that she faces Britt's back, she seems distracted, particularly by Britt's back muscles and bare waist.

Britt catches Santana staring when she pivots again. "You keeping up okay?" Britt grins at her.

Santana blushes and stares hard at Britt's hands. "It's hard to see what your hands are doing."

"I bet. Especially when you're not looking at them."

"Shut up." Santana squints and adjusts her hands slightly to reproduce Britt's position. "Keep going."

When the form brings Britt far in Santana's direction, Santana drops out of synchronization and steps back out of Britt's path. Britt continues, showcasing t'ai chi's deliberation of movement, and eventually comments, "The name 't'ai chi' comes from the real name for the yin-yang symbol."

"Really?" Santana watches Britt's arms, already slick along the creases of Britt's elbows.

Britt nods and hums, "Mm-hm. It's a combined hard and soft martial art. The idea is, if you meet brute force with brute force, someone's guaranteed to get hurt. T'ai chi is supposed to teach you that sometimes, it's better to absorb an impact until it can be redirected. That's the _yin_, slow and meditative."

Santana eyes Britt's movements critically and curiously. "Hardly sounds like your style."

Britt smiles. "I'm just full of surprises." The form brings her ponderously toward the far wall. "Lao Tzu once wrote, 'The soft and pliable will'—"

"—'defeat the hard and strong.' I know." Britt breaks form to glance at Santana over her shoulder. Santana grins proudly. "I'm the one whose meditative state determines the structural integrity of this building, remember?" she teases kindly. "You think I haven't read the Tao Te Ching?"

Britt beams and laughs at herself. "And you let me ramble on about _yin _and _yang_?"

"I live _yin _and _yang_," Santana admits, twisting her fingers together, "but it's cute to listen to you talk about it."

Britt's form turns her away from Santana, then back the way she came. "I guess it would be silly to ask why the Tao Te Ching didn't lead you to t'ai chi."

"Not silly." Santana bites her lip. "But I kind of had enough meditation when I was first trying to… learn to control myself better."

"T'ai chi isn't all meditation," Britt points out. "It's still a martial art. It's about knowing when to push back."

Santana snorts grimly. "Well, timing always was my problem, I guess."

Britt shrugs. "Maybe I should be teaching this to your other half."

"To—oh." Santana grips her hands tighter. "I doubt that would end well, Britt."

"It might start well, though," Britt entreats.

"You know I don't like doing that." Santana frowns.

Britt lets it go and follows the form left again. "I know. Never mind. But I still think you could like this, if you tried."

Santana bites her lip and considers, watching Britt go through another forty six seconds of the form. "Alright, start over," she says, clapping her hands and standing abruptly. "See if I'm any better this time."

"Stop staring at my ass," Britt suggests. "That would probably help."

"Shh." Santana bites her lips and positions herself beside Britt again. "From the top?"

Britt nods and begins.

* * *

PIERCE TOWER – REC ROOM LOG – 20:28:06 21 OCT 2022

* * *

Secondary User Santana's voice echoes into the room. "Britt, I really, really, really think this is a bad idea."

Admin Britt's voice follows. "You've been practicing for months. Besides, why else would I talk you into drinking wine at dinner?"

The lights come on and Britt drags Santana inside by the hand.

"Being honest, I was hoping you were gonna have your way with me," Santana grouses.

"That's precisely my plan." Britt grins at her. "Just not the way you thought."

Santana sighs heavily. She eyes Britt and pouts. "My way's way more fun."

"I think this'll be fun, too," Britt insists, squeezing Santana's hands and leading her to the center of the room.

Santana huffs and drops Britt's hands so she can hug herself around the middle. "Can we at least do my way when this catastrophe's over?" she grumps.

"If you're good." Britt winks.

"Fine." Santana attempts a scowl and nearly manages one. She reluctantly toes her shoes off and yanks her shirt over her head.

Britt teases, "I just wanted to get you to take your clothes off."

Santana scoffs but smiles. "All you had to do was ask, baby," she teases back shyly as she tugs her pants down.

"You know, I totally owe whoever you got to design your in-case-of-emergency undies," Britt comments appreciatively. "Could've just as easily turned into a granny-pantie situation."

Santana wrinkles her nose and wraps her arms back around her waist. "As if I'd wear something like that. I do have some standards, Britt."

"Barely. Have you seen your wardrobe? You've got the endearing absent-minded professor thing going on real bad."

"Shut up. Can we get this over with?" Santana kicks her pants and shoes aside, obviously nervous.

Britt shrugs. "You're the one with the trigger finger, sweetie."

Santana gulps, shakes her head, and squeezes her eyes shut tight. Britt begins stepping away as Santana's shoulder joints lurch outward; her spine and shoulder blades follow suit with a cracking noise, and Santana howls in pain. Her muscles begin catching up to her skeleton. Her skin greens as it stretches.

Guest Snix stands over six feet tall, snarling aimlessly around the room until she notices Britt.

"Hey there," Britt says cheerily. Her expression disguises her heightened heart rate and adrenaline responses.

Snix growls at her.

"Ready for some t'ai chi?" Britt asks. Snix takes a menacing step toward Britt, unwittingly mimicking Yang Taijiquan 108 form's opening position. Britt hops into place beside her before Snix moves again. "Just like that," Britt coaches, holding her hands out in front of her.

Snix frowns at her, annoyed and bewildered, before slowly raising her hands in imitation. Confusion and muscle memory leave Snix docile enough to follow Britt's movements until the form turns them away from each other.

Snix growls.

_Recording cut short_

* * *

PIERCE TOWER – REC ROOM LOG – 21:17:47 21 OCT 2022

* * *

Admin Britt steps away from the camera and back to Secondary User Santana, curled up in the laundry bin in the corner. "Santana," Britt whispers, shaking her shoulder.

Santana stirs slowly. Britt smiles when Santana opens her eyes. "Britt." Santana squints. "How'd it go?" She looks around the room's damaged walls and equipment; her jaw slackens. "Holy fuck. What happened?"

"Apparently, your other half gets grouchy when she can't look deep into my beautiful eyes," Britt jokes drily, offering Santana a hand out of the bin. Santana struggles through the dirtied towels and stumbles out onto the mat.

"I tried to warn you," Santana insists, more apologetic than accusatory.

"Yeah, yeah. It was an experiment." Britt skims her fingers along Santana's skin, and Santana shivers. "Thanks for trying," Britt adds gently, cut off when Santana brushes past her to locate her clothes.

"Sure," Santana says uncertainly. Britt waits for Santana to dress. Eventually, Santana bites her lips and says, "Britt, you know why it didn't work, right?"

She glances over her shoulder. Britt tilts her head curiously. "You can't teach _yin _to the _yang_," Santana chastises gently. "You just need to make sure they can work together when they need to."

Britt slowly smiles. "I guess that's a good point."

Santana smiles back, less tentatively. "It's not your fault," she says softly, walking back over and pressing against Britt's chest. Britt wraps her arms around Santana as Santana shrugs. "Even Lao Tzu couldn't see Snix coming."

Britt snorts. Santana peers up and Britt grins at her. "Oh, come on, Santana. Snix is, like, ten feet tall. Everybody can see her coming."

Santana starts laughing.


End file.
